The Wooing of Etcetera
by Lady Sorciere
Summary: Coricopat relates the story of how he won Etcetera's heart. For Cettie the Mary-Sue Slayer's "Make Me Laugh . . ." contest.


The Wooing of Etcetera

Disclaimer: Don't own Cats or any recognizable characters, of course. Notes are at the bottom.

The tom was peacefully dozing in the sun when he felt a sudden nudge. Opening his eyes, he saw several of his peers assembled above him.

"We need your help," Tumble began, "seeing as you have successfully snagged a mate and we have not. How did you do it, Cori?"

Cori sat up, stretching to hide a grin. "You are coming to me for help?"

"Cori, come on. We're nice to you now. Just help us, please?"

"Of course. Let's see . . ." He paused to let his memories settle. "I will skip through the beginning, since you already know your prospective mates. I suppose the best thing to relate would be the wooing itself. It begins after the Jellicle Ball . . ."

The Junkyard was hushed the day after the Ball. Coricopat slipped through the piles of junk, grateful for the silence and solitude. Even Tantomile was otherwise occupied – her mind was wrapped up in Admetus. It was a rare chance to think freely, completely freely, with no need to censor what he was contemplating.

Last night was Etcetera's coming of age, which meant she led the dancing and took part in the Mating Dance. He had known, of course, since they spent the last few months discussing little else. He had expected her jitters and nerves and dealt easily with that. What he had not expected was the sharp stab of emotion when he watched her dancing with Tumblebrutus. He knew, of course, that the dance didn't mean anything – it was just a ritual, a coming-of-age rite. And yet, that knowledge hadn't stopped the surge of emotion. He'd been up all night trying to put a name to the emotion and he finally had it.

_Jealousy._

When had that happened?

Cori climbed on top of the car and surveyed the 'Yard. It was strange to see it so empty – no gossiping queens, no rough-housing toms, no overactive kittens.

No cheerful Cettie. She could always be counted on to brighten up the day with her giggling.

Settling himself more firmly, Cori sifted through his memories to sort out exactly when he had developed such feelings for his friend as to make him jealous of Tumble. He couldn't find the exact moment and he supposed it was futile to try. One thing he knew was that emotions were unpredictable. As far as he could tell, however, it had been some months. That would explain his growing anxiety over the Dance, which had almost rivaled Cettie's.

So, he had deciphered the meaning of his emotions. Now he had to decide on a course of action. The simplest and easiest thing to do would be to ignore it all. Cettie didn't know, he assumed, thus it would not harm her to keep this discovery to himself. But a better way was to confess his feelings, which would be a shock to the poor queen and almost certainly end in disaster.

No, the best thing would be to win her heart. Cori set a plan: first, he would learn what things Etcetera most enjoyed and liked and use that information to put the second step into place, namely the wooing of Cettie.

Cori spent the next few days lurking around the Junkyard and learning about his Cettie. He knew some basic things, of course, because they had spent hours together in the previous months. But he had much to learn still. Victoria let slip that Cettie was not fond of fish – at all. Mice and rats were a little better, but her favorite thing to eat was small birds. Electra mentioned Cettie's love of sunflowers. Jemima spoke of Cettie's fondness for soft things to sleep on.

When he had gathered enough information, Cori made his first move.

"Bye, Jemi! I'll see you tomorrow." Cettie spun around to enter her den, stopping abruptly when she saw Cori. "Oh, hi, Cori! How are you?"

"I'm doing well, Cettie. You seem to be quite well also."

"Yeah, Jemi and I were out. What brings you here?"

"I saw these and thought of you." Cori pulled a bouquet of sunflowers from behind his back and gave them to Cettie with a flourish.

"Cori, they're beautiful and my favorite! How did you know?"

Cori winked. "I have my ways. I also thought perhaps we could take a walk later this week."

"I'd like that." A shy smile appeared on Cettie's face as she backed into her den. "I'll see you later, Cori."

Cori smirked as he wandered off.

_Very nice, brother. Admetus approves as well. _With that encouragement from his sister, Cori went to their shared den to make plans.

The next day, Cori dropped off a bird he had caught while hunting. "I don't need it, because Tantomile is with Admetus today. I thought you might appreciate it." Cettie thanked him profusely, even inviting him to dine with her – an invitation he quickly accepted.

Two days later, he brought over a pillow he saw in an alley. It was in perfect condition and he wasn't sure why the humans were throwing it out but he wasn't going to waste an opportunity. He took it to his den and made sure it was clean then took it to Cettie.

"I was just thinking that I needed a new pillow! Come see." Cettie grabbed Cori's hand and dragged him into the den. It was divided, with a clear distinction in Cettie's side and Electra's side. Cettie's side was covered with pillows, blankets, anything soft. Electra seemed to favor things she could bat around. "See, I usually sleep on this pillow but it's ripping and my other pillow is in the perfect spot to catch the sun so I didn't want to move it. Thank you."

Cori was caught off guard when Cettie threw her arms around him but he recovered quickly. He gently hugged her in return.

"It was my pleasure, Cettie."

Cori had no plans for their walk. He showed up at Cettie and Electra's den just before sundown. Cettie was outside, her attention caught by a butterfly. Cori watched her for a moment, letting a rare smile cross his face. He had never been so utterly captivated by another creature in his life. He knew that she wasn't perfect, not by a long shot, but he was willing to deal with Cettie's faults.

"Etcetera?"

"I thought we were over that, Cori!" Cettie bounced over, grinning at him. "Do I have to train you again?"

"Of course not. I merely wanted to attract your attention. Are you ready?"

"Yes." Cettie's smile took on a much more demure, shy quality as Cori pulled her hand through his arm.

"I thought we could walk down to the park. It should be fairly quiet and deserted at this time of day."

"I love the park, especially over by the little pond. It's so peaceful there, don't you think?"

Cori nodded slowly. "I go there sometimes to escape . . ."

"It must be hard, sharing your head with your sister. I don't blame you for getting away."

Cori squeezed Cettie's hand. That was one of the things he loved about her – she understood what he was trying to say. None of the other Jellicles did, except for his sister. And he sometimes thought Tantomile only understood because she heard every thought he had.

The park was quiet, as he had hoped. Earlier in the afternoon, Cori had set up a picnic spot and when they arrived, it was undisturbed.

"You put a lot of work into this. It's very nice." Cettie sat down, looking around with a pleased expression. Cori followed her gaze. He had candles and a red checkered tablecloth, with a bouquet of sunflowers in a vase.

"Thank you, Cettie. I wanted to have an enjoyable time. I have dinner." He'd gone hunting that morning and caught more birds. They chatted through the meal, discussing the humans Cettie lived near. They were both strays and had no family but there was a family that fed Cettie on occasion.

Once dinner was over, they walked through the park and found a spot to sit where they could see the stars. Cettie rested her head on Cori's shoulder with a quiet sigh.

"This was really nice, Cori."

"I'm glad. I . . . I have a question, Cettie." Cori slipped an arm around her, trying to calm his nerves. He thought he could do this with his usual composure but now that the moment had arrived, he thought his heart would pound out of his chest. "I have enjoyed spending time with you, Etcetera and I thought . . . What I mean is that, I would like to spend more time with you. And I thought perhaps –"

"Cori, are you asking to court me?"

"Yes." Cori pulled back slightly. "Yes, that is what I'm trying to say. Etcetera, would you allow me to court you?"

"I've been waiting for that for so long, Cori. Yes."

And then she pulled him close and kissed him, not soft and sweet but fiercely passionate – quite unexpected from Etcetera.

Cori finished his story and the other toms wandered off, lost in thought. As he waited, a hand slipped around his waist. "What was that about, my love?"

"Just telling our story – the wooing of Etcetera. It's a good one."

Author's Note: I read a fanfiction with this pairing and I really liked it for some reason. I buy into the "opposites attract" theory, so maybe that's part of it. Thanks for reading and please review – it makes me happy!


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